Apple HomeKit Arrives With Insteon, Lutron, iHome And Elgato Products

HomeKit supposedly launched with iOS 8, although thus far no one has been able to use it due to no products being available.

Today, that officially came to an end with Insteon, Lutron, iHome, Elgato and Ecobee all announcing that their HomeKit products are now officially available to buy.

Leading the announcements is Insteon, which has revealed a brand new smart home hub and App that will let customers control connected Insteon products as well as other HomeKit-enabled products from other companies.

“We’re excited to be shipping our HomeKit-enabled Insteon Hub and releasing the Insteon+ mobile app, enabling the mass consumer market to live in a world where all of their connected devices work together in perfect harmony,” says Joe Dada, CEO, Insteon.

“HomeKit streamlines home automation for consumers, brings together multiple manufacturers and offers advanced features like remote control and voice control through integrations with Siri.”

Using Insteon’s HomeKit-enabled hub, users will be able to utilise Apple’s Siri voice assistant for controlling their lighting, locks and other smart home functions.

The hub isn’t yet available in the UK, or elsewhere in Europe, although it’s expected to ship at some point in the future.

US buyers will be able to get the HomeKit-enabled hub for $149 through Amazon and some other online retailers, with it set to trickle down to other retailers in July.

Insteon isn’t the only company targeting a July release in retail stores; Elgato is planning to release its HomeKit-enabled Eve sensors in the same month.

The Eve sensors have been designed to detect weather patterns and air quality, with the company making it available for pre-order on its site to coincide with today’s announcement.

Lutron’s Caseta Smart Bridge and Lighting Starter Kit is available from today in the Apple Store however, allowing homeowners to control their Lutron Caseta wireless dimmers from today.

Again, Lutron’s smart home kit is only available in the US for now.

iHome and Ecobee also had HomeKit enabled products to show off, with the former offering a smart plug to enable users to wireless switch off their appliances and other electronics, while the latter had a new thermostat to rival the likes of Nest and Honeywell.

While this is the first raft of HomeKit announcements, with WWDC set to take place on June 9, it’s likely there will be more big news surrounding Apple’s plans for home automation domination.